The Wanderers
by arwen evenstar11
Summary: This is about a noble girl who escapes from a forced marriage and becomes friends with a young and handsome mage.


Disclaimer: I do not own Tortall (although I wish I do)!! The characters and plot in this story are all mine, though. Happy reading!  
  
Chapter One: Running Away  
  
Miranda walked through the halls of Cotfield Castle, her home. She had to get out fast or one of the servants would find out. Then, all hope would be lost. She would be forced to go through it. The dreaded word marriage ran through her mind. She would sooner kill herself than get married to that pig of a man.  
  
It was only a month ago when her father, Lord Piri, had introduced her to Baron Millan of Rockfall. The baron was a short and ugly man. His head was raggedly bald, save for a few stiff, red hairs, standing jaggedly all over it, and running downhill to his broad, blunt nose. He definitely looked like a pig. He was fatter than anyone Miranda had ever met. The layers of skin on his chin almost completely covered his thick neck. Miranda didn't even want to think about what his chest and stomach would look like. He smelled like a pig too. His body always reeked of rotten meat and spoiled food. The man reminded Miranda of the latrines at the back of the castle. She knew that if she was forced to lay in bed with him, which would certainly happen if they were to get married, she would certainly throw up sooner than fall asleep. Miranda could think of no reason why the king would ever want to be near a man like Baron Millan, much rather favor him over his other subjects. Once a petty noble, who had received almost nothing from his father, Baron Millan had cleverly worked his way up the court and is now one of the king's favorite subjects and also one of the richest nobles in the kingdom. I don't care how wealthy he is, Miranda thought, Father can't expect me to marry that disgusting pig!  
  
Miranda heard voices coming from the next corridor. She frantically looked around for a place to hide. There was a small door to her right. She pushed it open and slipped into the dark room. Now, she heard the voices more clearly. There were two men. She picked out one to belong to Carlos, one of the servants who worked in the kitchen.  
  
"I'm telling you, Seamus, 'tis a great shame that Lady Miranda will have to get married to that baron tomorrow."  
  
"Yes," Seamus replied, "Her kind of beauty shouldn't be wasted on a man like the baron. Sometimes, I really wish I wasn't just some kitchen boy and the Lord could actually consider Lady Miranda getting betrothed to me."  
  
"I assure you that all the lads here have thought about that some time or another."  
  
Now, the two passed by the room Miranda was hiding in. Miranda waited until the voices faded away to come out of hiding. Well, she'd have to be more careful now that she knew there were some servants who were still up and around.  
  
At the end of the hallway, she arrived at a staircase. It was one of the back ones that the servants use. She tiptoed down the steps. Right next to the end of the staircase was a door. Miranda looked around to make sure no one was near. Then she pushed open the door that resulted in an audible creak. Miranda froze. She had gotten so far, she couldn't afford to make any mistakes at all. Fortunately, no one came and she slipped outside.  
  
The refreshing breeze blew in her face. It was towards the end of spring. The weather was neither too hot nor too cold. Miranda readjusted the bundle she was holding under the crook of her left arm and looked around. She still needed to get past the battlement wall, but there was a smaller side gate she knew of that she could get out through. She found this gate in no time and passed through. Now at last, she was free.  
  
Author's note: I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. I'm just trying to get all the background information in so you guys won't be confused in later chapters. And I won't be posting another chapter unless you guys review. So just click on that little blue button below and write me a review! 


End file.
